Shell has said it is prepared to discuss possible oil sanctions against Syria, but has not committed itself to joining a boycott...Shell itself is maintaining it is doing nothing wrong in Syria, emphasising that its activities are limited...[Author Marcel Metze says that] Shell is involved in a joint venture which is under strict Syrian control...[which] is a much more immediate relationship than just being a buyer...[Despite some MPs' arguments that] Shell's oil is in the army tanks used to repress the Syrian people...[f]or the time being, the Dutch government continues to support Shell's position...Human rights activists say that the violence has cost the lives of some 2200 people, 400 of them soldiers and policemen, and 1800 civilians.